Worth Knowing
by Lady Belle
Summary: Secrets and lies. The things worth knowing. GSR
1. Chapter 1

Rated: For now, T

A/N- this is not part of 'A Thin Line'

--

Sara grabbed a swab from her crime scene kit. She knelt down, and with a gloved hand she gently blotted the glistening crimson substance on the tile floor. Standing up, Sara brushed strands of chestnut hair that had escaped her pony-tail behind her ear. She took a bottle of luminal from her kit, and dripped the liquid on to the swab. Her lips lifted in an unamused smile when it illuminated.

Placing the swab in protective casing, and putting it securely in her kit, she then continued her investigation of the bathroom floor.

Sara was crouched in the tub, inspecting the interior of the drain when she felt her cell phone vibrate against her waist. She stood, slightly annoyed. Taking the cell out of its holder to looked at the caller I.D. Her annoyance changed to warmth, a smile spread across her face.

"Hey," She said affectionately.

"Hi." The distinct male voice was smooth, only those who really knew him would hear the tiredness underneath.

"Is everything alright?" Sara asked, kneeling once more in the tub, her eye catching a glint of something in the drain.

"Everything's fine. Just wondering when you're coming home."

"A couple hours, I think." She answered, digging in the drain with a pair of tweezers.

She heard a sigh.

"You do know your shift's been over for an hour, right?"

Sara blinked in surprise, and quickly looked at her watch. She cursed.

"Oh, Gris. I'm sorry. I really underestimated the time we'd need for this scene." Continuing on the drain, Sara felt a moment of triumph when her tweezers latched onto the shiny material.

"I understand, it's alright," Sara could hear the disappointment in his voice, "I just want to see you."

Sara identified the material to be a condom. A used condom. She carefully put it in an evidence bag. Standing up, she stretched her back, feeling vertebrae pop.

"I want to see you too." Sara felt ridiculous for the light flush spreading on her cheeks. Softly she asked, "How's Syd?"

"As of five minutes ago, asleep." She could hear the smile in his voice.

Sara smiled herself.

"I'm sorry Gris, but this will take a couple hours."

"It's fine Sara." Grissom said resignedly.

They said their goodbyes, and Sara closed her phone with a click. She stared at the phone regretfully before continuing her work.

--

"Condom."

"What?" Greg's head popped out from underneath the kitchen table.

"I found a used condom in the bathroom tub drain." Sara said, holding out a plastic evidence bag for him to look at.

Greg crawled out from under the table and stood up, looking at the bag with interest.

"Hm," he pondered, tapping a finger to his lips. "That's odd, isn't it?"

"Yeah. The vic's boyfriend said he hasn't seen her for weeks. A condom in a drain would really clog it. I imagine a girl as clean as our vic wouldn't leave something that clogged her drain for a day. So unless the boyfriend was lying…"

"Or our little vic wasn't the prude everyone believed." Greg finished.

Sara gave him a look, Greg shrugged.

"DNA will tell us if she has been sleeping with someone else, or if the boyfriend was lying about the timeline." Sara then noticed the print tape Greg was holding.

"Finger prints?"

"Yeah, I found them all over the kitchen. Most of them look to be about the same size, so I'm guessing they are Matilda's, but some are bigger." Greg finished his statement by putting the finger print tape into an envelope, and securing it in his crime scene kit.

Sara nodded, partly to herself. "Good work," she glanced at her watch. "I think we're done here. Let's get this stuff back to the lab."

--

Three hours after her phone call with Grissom, Sara walked up concrete steps that lead to her house while digging through her purse. She fished out a set of keys. Sara quietly entered the house, noting the absence of noise. She left her shoes by the front door, and softly entered the living room. Grissom was sprawled on the couch; his breathing was slow and regular. Sara smiled, walked over to him. She gently brushed back silver curls. He looked so peaceful, almost five years younger while he slept.

Leaving the living room, she walked silently in her bare feet down a short hallway. She stopped at the open door at the end of the hall. Peering inside her smile widened.

Entering the room, Sara walked with purpose towards the crib that sat in the center. She gently gripped the top of the crib, and leaned to look inside.

A ten month old baby lay asleep. Her soft brunette curls framed her face in an angelic manner. Sara's hands itched to touch her, but she didn't want to wake her.

Sara tenderly smoothed the blanket that covered the baby. The blanket was a gift from Grissom's mother Eleanor. Ella (Eleanor insisted Sara call her Ella, as Eleanor supposedly 'sounded like an old lady') made the blanket a week after delivery. Embroidered on the top, in the center, was Sydney Eleanor Sidle-Grissom.

"_So many names for such a little baby." Ella said, rocking her grand daughter in her arms. Ella's deafness made her voice sound slightly hollow. _

_Sara sighed, too tired to argue. Ella, however, continued._

"_Sara dear. I really don't understand why you and Gil won't get married. He loves you. I can tell he absolutely adores you and this little bundle," the 'bundle' yawned generously. "And I know you love Gil, so I really don't understand." Ella looked up at Sara. Her look was expectant._

"_We've talked about it Ella," Sara began, after a slight hesitation. "We both came to the conclusion that neither of us wants marriage. Were both too independent…I mean, of course we depend on each other." Sara sighed, rubbing her eyes. "We're both happy as we are. We love each other, very, very much. But marriage doesn't seem appropriate for us."_

_This time, Ella sighed. "That's exactly what Gil said."_

_Sara smiled as Ella handed Sydney to her. Sydney looked up at her mother with a toothless grin and Sara felt her heart clench._

Sara didn't know how long she stood there, watching her daughter. But she was soon aware of a shadow across the floor, leading from the doorway. She sighed when arms enveloped her around her waist. Leaning back, she let her eyes slip close.

"Long shift."

Sara only nodded, thoroughly enjoying the feel of him.

Grissom looked over Sara's shoulder to the crib.

"Sydney's still asleep." He murmured into her hair.

Sara giggled, which soon turned into a gasp when Grissom's hands started to explore.

"G-gris…oh…god…don't you have to give that lecture at the university soon?" She turned to face him. Though her mouth said one thing, her body said the opposite. She molded to him as her lips met his.

"Not for an hour," He said against her lips. Grabbing her by the waist he lifted her, her legs automatically encircled his own waist. She involuntarily shuddered in pleasure when she felt his arousal. Looking down at him, she grinned at his smirk. Their eyes soon darkened, and she leaned down to catch his lips. Grissom staggered back to the master bedroom, trying to quietly walk down the hall, though Sara emitted many loud giggles when he ran into the wall.

--

tbc


	2. Chapter 2

Rated:T for now.

A/N- thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter, I'm glad to know someone likes this story : ). Please r&r if you like it or not...I can take criticism as long as it's meant to help, not harm. ; )

_--_

_She found her mother sitting on a chair facing a window that viewed the front of the house. _

"_Mama," Her small hands tugged on the hem of the older woman's shirt._

"_Not now Sara." Laura puffed on a cigarette._

"_Now mama!"_

_Laura pursed her lips, looking down at her five year old daughter. _

"_Sara." She warned._

"_I can twirl, mama! Like a princess," Sara began to twirl. "See?"_

_Laura sighed, "Sara, go to your room. It's almost bedtime."_

_The little girl stopped twirling. She faced her mother, "Daddy's not home."_

_Laura's frown deepened. "No, he's not." _

_Taking a long drag, Laura looked down at her daughter who was suddenly silent. _

_Wide brown eyes stared up at her. "Is daddy coming home?"_

"_I think so." She patted her pockets, searching for another cigarette._

"_Oh." Sara's small voice stopped Laura's movement. She studied her daughter for a moment. Sara was starring at her feet, her brow furrowed in thought._

_Laura was distracted by headlights streaming through the front window. A car pulled into the driveway. Laura's eyes narrowed as she glanced at the clock hanging by the front door._

"_Sara, I think you should go to bed…" Laura turned, only to find the little girl had already left._

--

"Ma…ma…ma…ma"

"That's me," Sara laughed, picking her daughter up from the playpen.

Claudia, CSI's daycare worker, smiled. "Sydney's been using new sounds today. She seems to really like 'ma'."

Sara grinned. She hoisted Sydney farther up on her hip, "Grissom's been trying to get her to say 'mommy'. I suppose that's as far as she's gotten."

Claudia tweaked the baby under the chin, "We'll see you tomorrow Syd." Sydney giggled. "Bye, bye Sydney."

"Wave bye-bye Sydney." Sydney moved her hands to mimic her mother's.

"See you tomorrow Claudia,"

--

Sara kissed her daughter's cheek as she unstraped her from her car seat. Sydney yawned widely. The excitement of seeing her mother had worn off, leaving her eyes drooping.

Opening the front door Sara smiled at the smell of breakfast cooking.

Sydney's eyes widened when she saw the man in the kitchen, turned towards the stove. "Ma…ma….ma," her small arms reached out towards her father.

Grissom turned, his eyes sparkling.

"My two favorite girls," He pecked Sara on the lips before taking Sydney. He lifted the child into the air, much to her squealed delight. "Hey baby girl."

"Ma…ma,"

Sara leaned against the counter, "She doesn't have 'dada' down yet."

"That doesn't matter. That she can articulate 'ma' is really smart for her age."

"Well, the books say babies should start saying a couple words around ten months."

Grissom marveled at the child he held in his arms, "She's brilliant, Sara. I saw her trying to walk the other day,"

Sara stirred the scrambled eggs on the stove, "And soon she'll be running, with us trying to catch her."

"I don't know if ol' dad will be able to keep up Syd." Grissom mock lectured. Sydney reached up trying to grab his nose.

Sara grinned at the picture of the two of them. Her daughter and her…boyfriend? Partner? Baby's father?

She felt tears prickle in her eyes as Grissom lovingly cooed to their child. Who needed to label this? This was her family. This was bliss.

--

After eating and putting Sydney down in her crib, Sara walked into the master bedroom smiling tiredly at the form already lying on the bed. He was in boxer shorts and a t-shirt. His eyes were closed but he smiled when she entered.

"She asleep?"

"Pretty much." Sara drowsily changed from her work clothes to pajamas. "How did he lectures at the University go?"

Grissom shrugged. "Not bad."

"It was weird…you not being at work today."

Grissom studied her for a moment. "C'mere,"

Sara sighed gratefully as she slid into his arms. Within minutes they were both asleep.

--

Even though Sara and Grissom weren't married, working together had been highly frowned upon once their relationship became known. Ecklie and the higher ups tried to separate them to different shifts as they believed having Sara work under Grissom would create ethical issues. Sara, Grissom and the graveyard team fought for them. After explaining in thorough detail that Sara and Grissom's solve rates had not decreased, but only increased since they began dating, and threatening they would both quit if separated, the powers that be felt momentarily tongue-tied. When they brought up the issue of Grissom's ability to be subjective concerning Sara's future employee evaluations and possible reprimands Grissom was prepared.

Catherine was promoted to co-rule the graveyard shift. Grissom would be given the duties to watch over Warrick and Nick, while Catherine would supervise Sara and Greg.

The higher ups could do nothing but agree. They couldn't chance losing one of the top entomologists in the country, and Grissom and Sara's solve rates would have been sorely missed.

Catherine's position as co-supervisor was a definite plus when Sydney was born. Catherine was able to smoothly reign the night shift when Grissom needed more flexible hours.

While they worked on the same shift, Sara and Grissom usually worked on different cases. They were wary a case could be potentially compromised if a lawyer brought their relationship forth to a jury in a manner that made them seem unprofessional. They were very professional at work, if someone who didn't know them studied very closely they most likely wouldn't see the warm glances and light touches.

--

Sara and Grissom kissed their daughter before they left the daycare to begin their shift. Grissom found himself stunned again how domesticated his life had become. Not that he was complaining; he couldn't imagine his life without Sara and Sydney. But he had never thought he would have been able to integrate so seamlessly in family-life. A few years ago he had been certain he'd never have his own family. If things had turned out slightly different, he might not have. Grissom frowned deeply at the thought.

"Hey, what's up?" Sara's soft voice penetrated his thought. They had been walking towards the CSI break room, but Sara had gently pulled him off to the side.

Grissom cleared his throat. "It's nothing."

"Are you sure?" Her eyes were bright and curious. Their color made him think of molasses and chocolate. He had trouble looking away.

"It's silly." He was about to brush it off but something in her expression made him continue. "I was just thinking…how different my life would be without you and Syd." He paused studying her face. "It amazes me how much I could have missed…" His voice was husky.

Sara blinked quickly, trying to keep her eyes from brimming with tears. She pulled Grissom into a hug, not caring who could see them. "That is one of the nicest things you could ever say."

--

It was several hours into shift, about five cups of coffee, and hours of looking through crime scene photos and statements, when Grissom felt his cell phone vibrate for what seemed the thousandth time.

"Grissom." He barked.

"Whoa, Gris."

Grissom rubbed his eyes. "Sorry Brass. What can I do for you?"

"I have something that'll brighten your night."

"Yeah?"

"I have Mrs. Rockwell in custody. Wanna join the interrogation?"

Grissom grinned, "Samantha Rockwell? That's great Brass. I'll be down in a couple minutes."

"Okay, room three."

Grissom snapped his phone closed smiling, his mood was brightening considerably.

A few minutes later Grissom quietly opened interrogation rooms door. He nodded to Brass as he stepped inside.

"Mrs. Rockwell, this is CSI Gil Grissom. He's also been working on the case and I'm sure he'd like to ask a few questions of his own." Brass looked up at Grissom, curious why he hadn't sat down.

Grissom was staring at the woman with shock written all over his face.

Samantha Rockwell pushed back chestnut curls, her expression showing a fair amount of her own surprise.

"Gil."

"Sam…" Grissom breathed. His face shifted through a dozen emotions, ending with his brow furrowed in confusion.

Brass looked back and forth at his colleague and the suspect.

"You know each other?"

Grissom's voice was strained when he answered, "Brass, this is Samantha…my ex-wife."

--

Love it? Hate it? Please review : )


	3. Chapter 3

a/n- this chapter is slightly shorter, but I feel it serves its purpose. My sincere thanks to everyone who's reviewed…you are inspiring and humbling. Please r&r if this strikes your fancy ;)

--

Brass blinked. "Uh, Gil? Can I talk to you outside?"

Grissom absently followed Brass. Once the doors to the interrogation room closed, Brass turned to Grissom.

"That's Samantha?" Brass rubbed his forehead, a headache felt imminent.

"Yeah."

Brass studied the younger man's pale face. "You can't stay on this case."

Not listening, Grissom ran a hand through his hair. "God…I can't believe it's her."

"Focus, Grissom."

Grissom breathed in deeply. "Sorry, Jim. I'm just …shocked."

"I think you both are." Brass paused, "I'm going pull Warrick or Nick on this."

Grissom eyed Brass sharply a refusal on his lips, Brass glared at him sternly. "You know you can't be on this case, Gil."

Grissom looked away. "Yeah…yeah I know."

--

After Grissom left, Brass re-entered the interrogation room. He looked at Samantha Rockwell with new eyes. So this was the woman Gil Grissom married in university. Brass had heard about Samantha over the years from Grissom; she wasn't Grissom's favorite topic so most of the information divulged was due to liberal amounts of bourbon. Brass had been more than surprised when Grissom told him he had once been married; it seemed to go against his very reclusive and secretive nature. But Brass supposed Grissom sometimes did do unexpected and surprising things—such as having a daughter with Sara.

Sara. Brass's stomach clenched. Oh god. Did Grissom ever tell her about his marriage? Looking at Samantha now, Brass felt pained to see the similarities between Sara and Samantha's physical characteristics. Both were brunette, brown eyes, thin and in good shape. Samantha's lips had a more sensual quality, and she was probably ten years Sara's senior, but even so the similarities were glaringly obvious.

Would Grissom have kept such a large piece of his past from Sara?

Brass was pulled out of his musings when Samantha cleared her throat.

"Will Gil be back?"

"No, he had to be pulled off this case. Conflict of interest."

Samantha nodded, staring after where Grissom had disappeared.

Brass rubbed his temple, he desperately need aspirin. "Okay, Mrs. Rockwell lets begin…"

--

Grissom entered his office, not pausing to turn on the lights. He sat on his couch and sighed. He couldn't decipher his emotions. Seeing Samantha without warning was like a punch to his gut. His thoughts were incoherent and confusing.

A half an hour later, Grissom was still sitting in the dark when the door opened.

"Gris? Why are the lights off?"

Grissom looked up at Sara. His beautiful, brilliant Sara.

"I'm fine…just a bit of a headache."

Sara closed the office door and kneeled down to face Grissom, her eyes filled with worry. "Is it a migraine?"

Grissom was sorely tempted to tell her the truth, that it wasn't his head at all but a woman in interrogation room three. The words begged to be spilled from the tip of his tongue, but he held back. How could he tell Sara about his ex-wife? An ex-wife he never once mentioned?

"No, it's not a migraine."

Samantha would be gone soon, Grissom figured. Out of his life for good. Why bother Sara with something she's better off not knowing?

Grissom kissed Sara's forehead tenderly. "I'm fine, honey."

--

Warrick looked at the files in his hands and then up at Brass with confusion. "Grissom was pulled from this case?"

Brass tried to appear as neutral as possible. "Yes, thus the reason why I'm pulling you on it."

"Why was Gris pulled?"

Brass inwardly grimaced. "Conflict of interest." When Warrick was about the poise another question that Brass knew he couldn't answer, he gruffly continued, "C'mon, we don't have all day here. Let's get in there."

Warrick, even more puzzled, followed Brass into the interrogation room.

--

A couple hours later found Grissom walking towards his vehicle. Shift wasn't over but he desperately needed to clear his head, and the CSI building was not helping. He fit his key into his car door when he heard someone call out his name. Turning he squinted his eyes against the rising sun.

"Gil!" Samantha walked up to Grissom quickly.

Grissom, seeing no way to avoid her, nodded to Samantha. "Sam."

Samantha stood in front of him, a forced smile tilted her lips. She opened her mouth once, twice.

"It's nice to…uh, see you, Gil."

"You too." Grissom glanced at his watch. "You just get out of questioning?"

Samantha flushed slightly, "No, I ...uh, actually been looking for you."

"I see."

Silence enveloped the pair for a moment, neither looking at the other directly in the eyes.

Samantha fidgeted with her purse. "It's been such a long time."

Grissom nodded. "Twenty-five years." He opened his car door.

"Listen…" Samantha placed a hand on his forearm then tore it back as though it burned. "Gil, I...would you like to get a cup of coffee?"

Grissom stared at her for a moment; a clear 'No' was his first thought, which was why his verbal response was so surprising.

"Yeah, sure."

--

a/n- I know you're probably thinking "Man, Lady Belle, you SO just didn't!" And all I can say is I certainly just did!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N- my apologies that it has been so long since I've updated this. I know this is a short chapter, but the next chapter will be longer, I promise! As always r&r and make an author deliriously happy! Now, go enjoy the chapter!

--

Within the first five minutes Grissom knew coffee had been a mistake.

It had taken only four minutes for Grissom to remember why their relationship hadn't lasted. When they had met in university Samantha had enraptured him with her body and her mind. She had been beautiful, the most beautiful woman he had ever seen up to that point; and she still was a very attractive woman. She was also one of the brightest minds he'd ever encountered. They'd fallen in love – at least he did – and not three months later they were married in city hall. It was the most reckless thing Grissom had done up to that point in his life. A month into the marriage true colors came to the fore, differences proved to be irreconcilable. Now, many years later, sitting across from Samantha a prominent flaw became once more apparent. Samantha, while an intelligent woman, was also shallow and incredibly self-absorbed. Grissom had somehow found it endearing when they'd first dated, but he hadn't realized how damned annoying it was until they were living together. He'd always figured she'd grow out of it. But, as even the best scientists are sometimes, he was wrong.

"It's just so amazing isn't it? Like fate. Do you believe in fate? I do. Ever since about fifteen years ago and my car broke down and I met Jack - my third husband, we're divorced now." She paused a moment taking a sip of coffee. "I was thinking about you the other day. What a coincidence, isn't it?"

Grissom stirred his black coffee and made a noncommittal noise.

"And here we are."

He nodded. "Yes."

She smiled up at him through her eyelashes. "So many years later."

Was she flirting with him? Feeling distinctly off-foot Grissom reached for the first comfortable topic he could think of. "I have a daughter."

Samantha's face blanked a moment then she smiled. "Well, that's great!"

Grissom's smile lit up his entire face. Talking about his daughter was always an enjoyable topic for him. "Her name is Sydney. She's almost ten months old."

Samantha's eyebrows rose. "You sure entered late in the game, huh?"

Grissom was used to the incredulous stare people gave him when he mentioned his daughter's age, he shrugged it off easily. "Not really. I just waited for the right person"

"How sweet. Your wife is very lucky."

Grissom didn't correct her. "It's me who's lucky. Sara is an amazing mother."

"I'm sure she is. I don't have any. Kids that is. They never really fit into my agenda. Working in a career like mine I really wouldn't have the time. But how nice for you."

Grissom felt a moment of irritation at the implied meaning. "Sara works as a CSI actually."

Samantha looked at him in surprise. "Dipping into the company pool, Gil? I never would have thought."

He raised a mild eyebrow. "When it's the one, it's the one."

"Well, she sounds wonderful. I'd love to meet her."

"Absolutely." He lied.

…

"Rick?"

Warrick pulled himself from under the car. Looking up he smiled. "What's up, Sidle?"

"Have you seen Grissom around?"

Standing Warrick wiped his greasy hands on his CSI issued jumper. "Not for a while. I think he left a bit after he was pulled from the Rockwell case."

Sara stared at him a moment. "He was pulled from a case?"

Warrick shrugged. "Yeah. And I dunno why, so don't bother asking me. All I know is Grissom was pulled off and Brass put me in on it."

"That's … odd."

"Don't need to tell me that."

Sara absently gave her friend a quick thanks before leaving the garage and heading to the CSI child daycare. Worry lines wrinkled between her brows. Eyeing a familiar head of brown hair she stopped and called out his name.

He turned to look back at her. "What's up?"

"Warrick says Grissom was pulled from a case?"

Brass's eyes flicked away from hers for a brief moment. He looked back at her guardedly. "Yes, he was."

When he said nothing else, she prompted, "Can I inquire why?"

Brass chewed his bottom lip. "I think it would be best if Grissom told you." He grabbed his beeper and looked at the display screen. "Sorry, cookie, but I gotta run. Give Syd my love." And he was gone.

Sara watched him leave with a puzzled frown. She wasn't a CSI for nothing. His beeper had most definitely not gone off.

--

He wasn't there when she got home.

After she tucked Sydney into her crib Sara slipped on sweatpants and a tank top and slid into bed. Determined to be awake when he got home she flipped through a magazine. Within five minutes she was sleeping, her hand curled against the pillow he slept on.

--

tbc


End file.
